IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT.3) 


/. 


Z( 


1.0 


I.I 


ItiKa    12.5 

1^  1^    112.2 


^  1^  IIIM 


L25  III  1.4 


III 


1.8 


1.6 


W' 


Photoi|raphic 

Sciences 
Corporation 


23  WIST  MAIN  STRICT 

WEBSTiR.N.Y.  14510 

(716)  673-4503 


6^ 


w 


CIHM/ICMH 

Microfiche 

Series. 


CIHM/ICMH 
Collection  de 
microfiches. 


Canadian  Institute  for  Historical  Microreproductions  /  Institut  Canadian  de  microreproductions  historiques 


Technical  and  Bibliographic  Notes/Notes  techniques  et  bibliographiques 


The  Institute  has  attempted  to  obtain  the  best 
original  copy  available  for  filming.  Features  of  this 
copy  which  may  be  bibliographically  unique, 
which  may  alter  any  of  the  images  in  the 
reproduction,  or  which  may  significantly  change 
the  usual  method  of  filming,  are  checked  below. 


[—l/Coioiired  covers/ 

I   ^    Couverture  de  couleur 

□    Covers  damaged/ 
Couverture  endommagde 

□    Covers  restored  and/or  laminated/ 
Couverture  restaur6e  et/ou  pelliculde 

□    Cover  title  missing/ 
Le  titre  de  couverture  manque 

□    Coloured  maps/ 
Cartes  gdographiques  en  couleur 

□    Coloured  ink  (i.e.  other  than  blue  or  black)/ 
Encre  de  couleur  (i.e.  autre  que  bleue  ou  noire) 

□    Coloured  plates  and/or  illustrations/ 
Planches  et/ou  illustrations  en  couleur 

□    Bound  with  other  material/ 
Reli6  avec  d'autres  documents 


D 


D 


D 


Tight  binding  may  cause  shadows  or  distortion 
along  interior  margin/ 

La  reliure  serree  peut  causer  de  I'ombre  ou  de  la 
distortion  le  long  de  la  marge  intdrieure 

Blank  leaves  added  during  restoration  may 
appear  within  the  text.  Whenever  possible,  these 
have  been  omitted  from  filming/ 
II  se  peut  que  certaines  pages  blanches  ajouties 
lors  d'une  restauration  apparaissent  dans  le  texte, 
n-)ais,  lorsque  cela  6tait  possible,  ces  pages  n'ont 
pas  6t6  filmdes. 

Additional  comments:/ 
Commentaires  suppidmentaires: 


L'Institut  a  microfilm^  le  meilleur  exemplaire 
qu'il  lui  a  6ti  possible  de  se  procurer.  Les  details 
de  cet  exemplaire  qui  sont  peut-dtre  uniques  du 
point  de  vue  bibliographique,  qui  peuvent  modifier 
une  image  reproduite,  ou  qui  peuvent  exige'-  L.ne 
modification  dans  la  mdthooc  normale  de  f image 
sont  indiqu6s  ci-dessous. 


I      I    Coloured  pages/ 


n 


Pages  de  couleur 

Pages  damaged/ 
Pages  endommagdes 


I      I    Pages  restored  and/or  laminated/ 


Pages  restaurdes  et/ou  pelliculdes 

Pages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxed/ 
Pages  d6color6es,  tachetdes  ou  piqu^os 


□    Pages  detached/ 
Pages  d6tach6es 

r~V  Showthrough/ 
Li_l    Transparence 

I      I    Quality  of  print  varies/ 


Quality  indgale  de  I'impression 

Includes  supplementary  material/ 
Comprend  du  material  supplementaire 


D 
D 


Only  edition  available/ 
Seule  Edition  disponible 

Pag  js  wholly  or  partially  obscured  by  errata 
slips,  tissues,  etc.,  have  been  refilmed  to 
ensure  the  best  possible  image/ 
Les  pages  totalement  ou  partiellement 
obscurcies  par  un  feuillet  d'errata,  une  pelure, 
etc.,  ont  6t6  filmdes  d  nouveau  de  fapon  d 
obtenir  la  meilleure  image  possible. 


This  item  is  filmed  at  the  reduction  ratio  checked  below/ 

Ce  document  est  film6  au  taux  de  reduction  indiqu*  ci-dessous. 

10X  14X  18X  22X 


26X 


30X 


12X 


16X 


20X 


24X 


28X 


32X 


ails 

du 

idifier 

nage 


rrata 
:o 


pelure. 


n 

32X 


Th«  copy  filmacl  h«r«  hM  b««n  r«produc«d  thanks 
to  th«  g«n»rosity  of: 

Library  Oiviiion 

Provincial  Archiva*  of  britiih  Columbia 

Tho  imago*  appoaring  horo  aro  tho  boat  quality 
posalblo  conaldorlng  tho  condition  mnd  logiblllty 
of  tho  original  copy  and  In  kaoping  with  th* 
filming  contract  spaclflcationa. 


Original  coploa  in  printed  papar  covars  aro  filmad 
baginning  with  tha  front  covar  and  andlng  on 
tha  laat  paga  with  a  printad  or  illustratad  impras- 
•Ion.  or  tha  back  covar  whan  appropriata.  All 
othar  original  copios  ara  f  ilmad  baginning  on  tha 
first  paga  with  a  priptod  or  illustratad  Impras- 
slon,  and  andlng  on  tha  last  paga  with  a  printad 
or  Illustratad  impression. 


Tha  last  racordod  frame  on  each  microfiche 
shall  contein  the  symbol  — ^'  (meaning  "CON- 
TINUED"), or  the  symbol  V  (meaning  "END"), 
whichever  applies. 

Maps,  plates,  charts,  etc..  may  be  filmed  at 
different  reduction  ratios.  Those  too  large  to  be 
entirely  included  in  one  exposure  are  filmed 
beginning  in  the  upper  left  hand  corner,  left  to 
right  and  top  to  bottom,  as  many  frames  as 
required.  The  following  diagrams  illustrate  the 
method: 


1 

2 

3 

L'exemplaira  f  ilm4  f  ut  reproduit  grice  *  la 
gAnArositA  da: 

Library  Division 

Provincial  Archiva*  of  Britiih  Columbia 

Las  images  sulvantes  ont  AtA  reprodultes  avec  le 
plus  grand  soln,  compta  tenu  de  la  condition  at 
da  la  nettetA  de  rexemplaire  fllmA,  et  en 
conformity  avec  las  conditions  du  contrat  de 
filmage. 

Lea  exemplaires  origlnaux  dont  la  couverture  en 
papier  est  ImprimAe  sont  fllmAs  en  commenpant 
par  le  premier  plat  et  en  terminant  solt  par  la 
darnlAre  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustratlon.  solt  par  le  second 
plat,  salon  le  cas.  Tous  les  autres  exemplaires 
origlnaux  sont  fllmAs  en  commenpant  par  la 
premlAre  paga  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustratlon  et  en  terminant  par 
la  derni^re  page  qui  comporte  une  telle 
empreinte. 

Un  des  symboles  suivants  apparaltra  sur  la 
dernlAre  image  de  chaqua  microfiche,  selon  le 
cas:  le  symbols  — »•  signifie  "A  SUIVRE".  le 
symbols  V  signifie  "FIN". 

Les  cartes,  planches,  tableaux,  etc..  peuvent  Atre 
filmAs  A  des  taux  de  rAduction  diff Arents. 
Lorsque  le  document  est  trop  grend  pour  Atre 
reproduit  en  un  seul  clichA.  11  est  filmA  A  partir 
de  Tangle  supArieur  gauche,  de  gauche  A  droite. 
et  de  haut  en  bas,  en  prenant  le  nombre 
d'images  nAcessaire.  Les  diagrammes  suivants 
iliustrsnt  la  mAthode. 


1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

I- 

i 


1*1- ice,  ,?,>  ('eats. 


P 


OCf 


Historical  Address 


"N    III  i; 


n:»arly    ltx|ilonition  ami   Settlement  of  the 


lit 


♦    »    » 


n 


ii:(iGoiocii|i|ii    Ualley 


l'>^'  <\  <\   V\   WW .  M.   I). 


i.Ai  I,  ii(iiAM-i   (,K  .\(,i:ic  11  Ti  i: 


M      I')   !•  \  l:  I  Ml:.\r.     U    \^ll  iSi,  llp.N.     |, 


J)ei.ivki;kii  in   I  ).\\  KNi'diir,   l-\\.\.    .I\\iai;v  -JIm.    1,s7:!. 


frULlsilli,  i;y  i;i:qli:sT.   Fi>R   Till:  K l-.M-FIT  , > r  THE    )nrM, 

.i//;.v'>  '7//.7>77.i.v  ,j,s>v/(  lAiios  i'(,)n;  ri  \i>. 


JJaC'f'it/fdi/,    liiirii  : 
l>a;u  Efilnrt,  ,('■  Fldlar. 

187.'!. 


«  1  I 


k 


Historical  Address 


ON   THE 


t^il  Jfspbratwtt  and  ^^HUm^nt  a!  \\t 

bsbstppi  1Nl%. 


BY  O.  O.  PARRY,  M.  D. 

LATE  BOTANIST  OF  AGRICULTURAL  DEPARTMENT,  WASHINGTON,  D.  C. 


Delivered  in  Davenport,  Iowa,  January  21st,  1873. 


PUBLTSHEI)  BY  REQUEST,  FOR  THE  BENEFIT  OF  THE  YOUNG 
MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION  POOR  FUND. 


Davenport,  Iowa: 

Day,  Egbert,  ^  Fidlar. 

1873. 


-■,!■ 


i 


4 

1 

i 

-  '•; 

i 

, 


« * 


i 


%^t  llmbilppi  %nlk^. 


HE  country  we  now  occupy  on  this  western 
bank  oftho  Mississippi,  and  of  which,  as  Amer- 
ican citizens,  we  are  justly  proud,  has  not  de- 
scended to  us  as  a  rich  ihheritance  from  a  vener- 
able and  time-honored  ancestry.  By  an  historic  movement 
grander  than  that  of  the  Jewish  Exodus,  and  an  irruption 
that  throws  into  the  shade  the  Norman  conquest,  we  are 
the  present  possessors  of  a  land  unknown  to  our  fathers. 
Even  during  the  present  century,  and  within  the  memory 
of  living  men,  this  Trans-Mississippi  region  has  borne  the 
name  of  a  French,  monarch  and  acknowledged-  the  sover- 
eignty of  a  Spanish  king.  Through  what  series  of  changes 
the  present  state  of  things,  as  now  passing  before  our  eyes, 
has  been  brought  about,  would  seem  not  altogether  devoid 
of  interest  to  us,  the  now  living  actors,  and  will  be  of  not  less, 
interest  to  those  who  shall  come  after  usi  Desirous  to  con- 
tribute something,  however  meagre,  to  this  historic  fund, 
I  have  endeavored  to  bring  together,  in  chronological  order^ 
some  of  the  principal  events  in  the  early  exploration  and 
settlement  of  the  Mississippi  Valley,  and  to  weave  into  my 
narrative  such  incidents  as  I  have  been  able  to  gather  up 
from  the  limited  sources  at  my.  command,  having  any  direct 
reference  to  our  local  history. 

It  is  a  matter  of  regret — though  perhaps  in  the  nature  of 
things  unavoidable  —  that,  in  the  bustle  and  excitement  of 
frontier  life,  the  most  favorable  conditions  are  not  affortdi^d, 
for  a  calm  and  dispassionate  view  of  the  true  chivr^ter  and, 


37611 


1 


distinctive  features  of  our  a])original  Indian  population. 
Being  regarded  mainly  as  obstacles  in  the  way  of  advancing 
civilization,  or,  commercially,  as  a  source  of  immediate 
gain,  neither  the  settler,  the  trader,  or  even  the  missionary, 
are  qualified  to  give  us  an  unbiased  view  of  the  original 
possessors  of  the  soil  we  now  occupy.  Hence,  the  materials 
for  a  correct  history  have  to  be  laboriously  exhumed  out  of 
one-sided  military  reports,  prolix  missionary  narratives, 
fragmentary  newspaper  sketches,  and  fugitive  correspondence 
accidentally  preserved.  As  yet,  no  historical  Agassiz  or  Hitch- 
cock has  appeared  to  reconstruct  these  dim  tracks  into  liv- 
ing history.  Hence,  in  our  attitude  as  simple  inquirers,  we 
can  hardly  do  better  than  to  take  the  advice  of  a  western 
writer,  who,  in  alluding  to  the  obscure  subject  of  Indian 
antiquities,  remarks ;  "  We  are  standing  in  the  midst  of 
monuments  that  are  rfwm6  ;  let  us  keep  quesUoning — they  may 
hereafter  speak  to  us." 

View  nly  from  the  present  standpoint,  the  past  history 
of  the  uOLiiginal  races  on  this  continent  presents  no  attract- 
ive features ;  it  is  but  a  record  of  continued,  persistent,  and 
relentless  destruction.  Except  in  the  pages  of  romance,  its 
whole  history  may  well  be  written  in  blood.  Even  the 
precious  seed  of  the  Gospel,  heroically  sown  and  carefully 
nurtured,  has  fallen  upon  an  unfruitful  soil,  save  here  and 
there  a  few  scattered  sheaves  worthy  to  be  gathered  into  the 
heavenly  garner ;  alt  else  presents  a  scene  of  moral  waste 
and  desolation,  more  repulsive  and  less  hopeful  than  that 
which  externally  characterizes  the  most  barren  of  our  inte- 
rior desert  wastes.    Turn  we  from  this  dark  picture. 

In  the  early  civilized  history  of  this  continent,  three  great 
European  powers  occupied  almost  exclusively  the  domain 
of  history.  Spain,  France,  and  England,  extended  their 
wars,  their  rivalries,  and  their  enterprises,  from  the  old 
world  to  the  new,  and  in  the  midst  of  their  incessant  and 
varied   contests,  the   cradle  of  American  civilization   was 


>         ■■* 


'i 


I 


1 


rudely  rocked.  Spain,  in  the  timt  perio(i  of  American  dis- 
coverv  tlie  mont  enterprising,  confined  her  attention  mainly 
to  the  soutliern  countries,  and  stretched  her  ])h)ody  and  vic- 
torious arm  over  the  weak  and  hixurioufl  natives  of  torrid 
climes.  Most  of  her  northern  expeditions  proved  complete 
and  disastrous  failures,  and  De  Soto,  the  first  discoverer  of 
the  Mississippi,  three  hundred  and  thirty  years  ago,  found 
onlv  an  unhonored  li-rave  heneath  its  waters.  France,  f'ol- 
lowinp^  later  in  the  track  of  her  enterprising  fishermen, 
gained  her  first  permanent  foothold  on  the  northern  Amer- 
ican coasts  and  islands ;  thence  penetrating,  hy  the  naviga- 
hle  route  of  the  St.  Lawrence  and  the  chain  of  northern 
lakes,  to  the  interior  districts,  from  whence  the  Upper  Mis- 
sissippi was  eventually  reached.  English  colonies  at  first 
occupying  the  intermediate  country  along  the  Atlantic  sea- 
board, eventually  as  the  result  of  fierce  and  continued  wars 
dispossessed  the  other  European  powers,  and  extended  her 
dominion  over  the  greater  part  of  eastern  North  America. 

To  French  enterprise  solely  is  due  the  credit  of  the  earli- 
est exploration,  and  the  first  permanent  settlements  along 
the  whole  course  of  the  Mississippi  Valley.  Fortunately, 
the  record  of  this  first  discovery  is  full  and  complete,  as  we 
now  proceed  to  note. 

Nearly  two  hundred  years  ago  —  on  the  17th  of  June, 
1673  —  two  bark  canoes,  containing  barely  , eight  persons, 
entered  the  Mississippi  river.  Their  route  was  by  an  almost 
continuous  water  passage,  by  way  of  Green  Bay,  on  Lake 
Michigan,  ascending  the  Fox  river,  of  Wisconsin,  to  its 
upper  marshes,  where,  by  a  short  portage,  the  canoes  were 
transferred  to  the  waters  of  the  Wisconsin,  thence,  by  an 
easy  descent,  reaching  the  Mississippi  river.  The  chief 
member  of  this  exploring  party,  though  not  its  actual  lead- 
er, was  Father  James  Marquette,  a  Catholic  priest,  who, 
with  self-denying  zeal,  had  devoted  his  life  to  missionary 
labor  among  the  western  aboriginal  tribes.     His  associate, 


and  the  official  hcjul  of  the  expedition,  waw  Sieur  Jolliet,  a 
native  of  Canada,  a  man  of  enterprise  and  tact,  well  qual- 
ified for  the  position  to  which  he  had  been  assigned,  at 
present  ^geographically  commenioraied  by  the  thriving  lUi- 
tK.is  town  which  bears  his  name.  On  the  swelling  tide  of 
the  June  rise,  these  adventurous  travelers  pursued  their 
journey  down  the  course  of  this  majestic  stream,  to  which 
the  present  name,  under  a  slightly  changed  oi'thography 
{Michisi/n),  was  then  ap[>lied.  The  peculiar  features  of  the 
country  on  either  hand  drew  their  earnest  attention,  while 
they  were  oppressed  by  the  death-like  silence  that  brooded 
over  its  unp)eopled  shores.  By  the  third  or  fourth  day  tliey 
must  have  passed  Kock  Island,  of  which,  however,  no 
special  mention  is  made.  The  rapids  being  then  covered 
up  by  the  swollen  waters,  aU ,  seem  not  to  have  attracted 
attention. 

At  some  point  not  far  below  the  present  town  of  Keo- 
kuk, on  the  25th  of  June,  an  Indian  trail  is  noticed  on 
the  western  shore,  leading  from  the  river  bank  across  the 
narrow  neck  of  land  between  the  Mississippi  and  Des  Moines 
rivers.  Intent  on  acquiring  some  knowledge  of  the  inhabi- 
tants adjoining  this  wonderful  but  apparently  deserted 
stream,  the  two  adventurers  left  their  canoes  in  charge  of 
their  attendants,  and  followed  the  track  six  miles,  to  an  In- 
dian village  on  the  banks  of  the  Des  Moines.  Here  their 
hazardous  enterprise  was  rewarded  by  being  kindly  re- 
ceived and  hospitably  entertained  by  the  no  less  wondering 
natives.  After  a  prolonged  stay  of  six  days,  during  which 
Father  Marquette  improved  the  opportunity  to  speak  to 
them  by  expressive  signs  both  of  the  French  king,  and  the 
Great  Heavenly  Master,  they  again  started  on  their  voy- 
age, being  escorted  back  to  their  canoes  by  a  large  retinue 
ot  warriors.  On  their  final  parting,  they  received  as  a  gift 
an  ornamented  peace-pipe,  to  be  used  as  a  sacred  calumet 
against  the  foes  and  dangers  to.  which  they  might  be  ex- 
posed on  their  route. 


•i 


T 


.„j. 


i 


'f 


AN    IIISTORTCAF.    ADDRESS. 


The  voyage  eontinuoH  without  hindrance  or  mirthji|),  pass- 
ing the  mouth  of  the  Missouri,  noted  in  the  map  accompa- 
nying Marquette's  narrative  as  Pekitano\ii^  or  the  "  Muddy 
Water."  They  glide  on  the  swift  and  now  turbid  cur- 
rent past  the  then  unoccupied  site  of  the  present  metropolis 
of  the  Mississippi  Valley  —  St.  Louis  —  along  the  great 
American  Bottom,  soon  aftei-  to  receive  the  first  permanent 
French  settlers.  Farther  on,  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio  is 
passed,  and  beyond  the  sightly  blutfs  on  which  Memphis  is 
now  located.  Then  comes  the  monotonous,  densely-wooded 
shores,  and  the  intermir.ible  cane-brakes,  where  oppressive 
heat  and  tormenting  insects  add  their  discomforts  to  the 
unattractive  scenery.  After  passing  below  the  mouth  of 
the  Arkansas,  and  v. n countering  different  races  of  Indians, 
not  altogether  friendly,  and  being  fully  satisfied  that  the 
course  of  the  river  was  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  not  as 
represented  —  into  the  South  Sea,  or  the  Pacific  Ocean  — 
they  considered  that  the  chief  object  of  their  journey  was 
accompUshed.  In  order,  therefore,  not  to  expose  the  re- 
sults of  their  journey  to  unnecessary  risk,  they  concluded 
to  return,  tind,  retracing  their  conrse  up  the  Mississippi  as 
fa."  as  the  mouth  of  the  Illinois,  they  were  guided  by  a  still 
more  direct  water  communication  up  that  stream  to  the 
head  of  Lake  Michigan ;  and,  having  accomplished  a  trav- 
eled distance  of  over  twenty-five  hundred  miles,  reached 
their  starting-point  at  Green  Bay  in  September,  after  an 
absence  of  just  four  months. 

On  his  return  voyage  to  Quebec,  Jolliet  was  so  unfortunate 
as  to  lose  the  notes  of  his  journey,  barely  escaping  with 
his  life,  by  the  wreck  of  his  boat  in  crossing  the  rapids  of 
the  St.  Lawrence.  This  disaster  served  to  give  additional 
value  to  the  narrative  of  Marquette,  which,  having  been  duly 
transmitted  to  his  ecclesiastical  superiors,  on  the  month  fol- 
lowing his  return,  was  subsequently  forwarded  to  the  French 
authorities.     France,  however,  was  not  at  this  time  in  a  con- 


8 


THE    MISSISSIPPI   VALLEY  : 


ditioii  to  avail  hernelf  of  the  advantages  thus  offered  by  her 
enterprising  sons  to  extend  her  dominions  over  the  Mississ- 
ippi valley,  and  accordingly  no  official  action  was  taken  to 
perfect  the  discovery.  But  among  those  occupying  the 
frontier  settlements  along  the  line  of  the  Great  Lakes,  to 
whom  this  discovery  was  communicated,  was  Robert  Cava- 
lier de  La  Salle,  then  living  at  Fort  Frontenac,  (now  King- 
ston), Canada.  This  man,  possessed  of  indomitable  natural 
energy,  and  ambitious  of  securing  wealth  and  distinction, 
conceived  the  idea  of  securing  these  ends,  by  colonizing  this 
new  region,  and  planting  the  standard  of  France  in  this 
magnificent  valley.  Full  of  these  schemes,  in  the  year  1678 
he  went  to  France,  where,  in  presenting  his  plans  before  the 
French  government,  he  had  no  difficulty  in  procuring  a  royal 
commission  with  full  powers  and  privileges  for  carrying  out 
his  designs.  On  returning  to  this  country  he  immediately 
set  about  his  preparations,  and  in  1679  launched  the  first 
sail  vessel  on  Lake  Erie.  On  August  7th,  of  the  same  year, 
he  set  sail  on  his  adventurous  journey.  On  reaching  the 
extreme  settlements  of  Green  Bay,  he  concluded  to  send 
back  his  vessel  loaded  with  furs,  for  additional  supplies, 
while  he  continued  his  journey  in  bark  canoes  along  the 
east  shore  of  Lake  Michigan,  as  far  as  St.  Joseph  river,  to 
which  point  he  had  given  directions  for  his  vessel  to  return. 
While  waiting  here  impatiently  this  expected  arrival,  the 
cold  season  was  rapidly  advancing,  and  the  severities  of  an 
approaching  winter  awakened  anxious  fear  and  solicitude. 
Unable  longer  to  bear  this  intolerable  suspense,  this  resolute 
commander  resolved  to  push  forward  with  the  slender  means 
at  his  command,  in  the  direction  of  his  proposed  exploration 
Accordingly,  on  the  3d  of  December,  1679,  he  proceeded 
with  his  party  by  the  return  route  of  Marquette,  six  years 
previously,  passing  up  the  St.  Joseph  river  in  Michigan, 
crossing  by  a  portage  to  the  Kankakee,  branch  of  the  llli- 
the  latter  stream.     He  found  the  ^llinois 


V's 


nois,  and  down 


L 


ft 


f  \ 


AN    HISTORICAL    ADDRESS. 


vtilley  theM,  as  in  the  time  of  Marquette,  occupied  by  various 
bands  of  the  Illinois  tribe  of  Indians.  Here  his  superior 
tact  and  abilities  were  brought  into  active  re(|uisition  to 
conciliate  the  friendship  and  good-will  of  this  powerful 
tribe,  and  succeeding  in  this,  he  locited  his  winter  quarters 
in  their  midst,  at  some  point  not  far  from  the  present  site 
of  the  town  of  Peoria.  As  an  expression  of  his  bitter  dis- 
appointment in  the  present  failure  of  his  plans,  he  gave  the 
name  of  Creve-cwur  (or  broken  heart),  to  the  first  civilized 
settlement  in  the  now  flourishing  state  of  Illinois. 

The  details  of  this  gloomy  and  disheartening  winter  can 
be  better  imagined  than  described,  but  nothing  could  daunt 
the  resolute  spirit  of  La  Salle;  having  given  up  all  hopes 
of  the  safety  of  his  vessel,  on  which  he  was  dependent  for 
the  means  of  continuing  his  explorations,  he  organized  a 
party  under  Father  Louis  Hennepin,  the  missionary  priest,  to 
ascend  the  upper  Mississippi.  This  Reverend  Father,  who, 
subsequently,  by  his  false  and  contradictory  statements,  re- 
ceived the  not  very  dignified  title  of  "The  Great  Liar,"  so 
far  successfully  carried  out  the  plans  of  his  commander 
(whom  he  never  afterwards  met  alive),  as  to  ascend  the 
Mississippi  in  the  following  season,  1680,  as  far  as  the  falls 
of  St.  Anthony,  so  named  by  him.  After  making  all  due 
allowances  for  the  subsequently  proved  unreliable  character 
of  the  man,  his  published  narative  of  what  he  actually  did 
see,  cannot  properl;  '.,e  overlooked  in  what  purports  to  give 
a  true  history  of  the  early  explorations  of  the  Mississippi 
valley. 

After  completing  these  arrangements  and  making  the 
best  provision  possible  under  the  circumstances  for  his  par- 
ty. La  Salle,  on  the  2d  of  March,  1680,  accompanied  by 
four  Frenchmen  and  an  Indian  guide,  started  overland  en- 
route  to  Canada,  for  necessary  supplies.  This  arduous  jour- 
ney, performed  on  foot  and  in  the  most  disagreeable  season 
of  the  year,  was  successfully  accomplished,  though  no  de- 


tailed  record  has  been  published  of  the  difficulties  and  hard- 
ships of  the  trip.  On  reaching  Fort  Frontenac,  La  Salle 
lost  no  time  in  pushing  forward  his  enterprise.  Another 
vessel  was  built,  and  abundant  supplies  furnished,  this  oc- 
cupying the  greater  part  of  the  year  1680.  By  the  close  of 
the  year  he  again  reached  the  Illinois  country,  to  find  his 
fort  abandoned,  and  his  party  broken  up.  The  winter  and 
part  of  the  following  spring  of  1681  was  spent  in  conciliat- 
ing the  good-will  of  the  various  Indian  tribes,  in  which  be- 
ing successful,  he  again  returned  to  Canada  to  reorganize 
his  exploring  party,  and  returned  at  the  close  of  the  season 
fully  equipped  for  his  long-delayed  undertaking.  Finally 
on  the  6th  of  February,  1682,  he  reached  the  mouth  of  the 
Illinois,  and  thence  following  down  the  Mississippi  beyond 
the  explorations  of  Marquette,  he  crowned  his  ambitious 
hopes  by  planting  the  banner  of  France  at  the  outlet  of  this 
majestic  stream,  with  appropriate  imposing  ceremonies,  on 
the  9th  of  April,  1682,  the  adjoining  country  then  for  the 
first  time  receiving  the  name  of  Louisiana.  Thus  by  his 
persevering  efforts,  continued  in  spite  o''  disheartening  dis- 
asters, for  four  years,  was  accomplished  a  complete  exam- 
ination of  the  entire  navigable  waters  of  the  Mississippi, 
from  the  falls  of  St.  Anthony  to  its  mouth,  one  hundred 
and  ninety  year-*  ago. 

After  his  return  an  interval  of  two  years  elapsed,  during 
which  time  La  Salle  returned  to  France  with  the  news  of 
his  discoveries,  and  organized  a  large  colonizing  expedition, 
designed  to  reach  this  country  by  sea. 

In  July,  1684,  the  fleet,  composed  of  four  vessels,  set  sail 
from  France.  This  expedition,  taking  a  southern  route, 
landed  at  San  Domingo.  Here  occurred  the  misfortune  of 
the  loss  of  one  of  the  vessels  loaded  with  goods  and  supplies, 
being  captured  by  a  Spanish  force.  The  three  remaining 
ships  having  laid  in  a  store  of  provisions,  and  taking  on 
board  a  number  of  domestic  animals  designed  to  stock  their 


1 


4        I    4 


k 


n 


4        I    . 


colony,  weiijliefl  anchor  November  25th,  1684.  and  proceed- 
ed on  their  voyiii^e  toward  the  month  of  the  Mississippi. 
After  safely  rounding  the  western  c£ipe  of  Cuba,  they  made 
land  to  the  north,  but  by  some  misunderstanding  missed 
the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi,  and  following  westward  in 
search  of  it,  along  the  gulf  coast,  reached  Metagorda  Bay, 
Texas.  Here,  on  attempting  a  landing,  La  Salle's  store  ship 
was  wrecked  and  went  to  pieces;  discouraged  by  this  loss, 
one  of  the  other  two  remaining  vessels  abandoned  the  ex- 
pedition, thus  leaving  La  Salle  with  but  one,  short  of  sup- 
plies, to  prosecute  his  enterprise.  Subsequently,  by  mis- 
management of  the  pilot,  this  last  ship  was  also  wrecked  on 
the  Texan  coast,  and  La  Salle  was  left,  with  a  remnant  of 
his  disheartened  party,  to  make  his  way  by  land  to  the  Illi- 
nois country  Li  this  journey  La  Salle  was  killed  by  a  mu- 
tineer of  his  party,  on  the  17th  of  March,  1687,  and  event- 
ually only  a  few  forlorn  individuals  of  the  original  expedition 
reached  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi.  Thus  closes  the 
eventful  history  of  La  Salle,  the  explorer  of  the  Mississippi 
valley. 

The  disastrous  result  of  this  well  devised  and  energetic 
enterprise  for  the  settlement  of  the  Mississippi  valley  might 
have  been  supposed  to  dampen  the  ardor  of  French  civili- 
zation; but  it  proved  far  otherwise.  Every  new  country 
seems  to  require  a  certain  amount  of  pioneer  blood  to  fer- 
tilize its  soil,  and  thus  prej^are  it  for  the  vigorous  growth 
of  the  seeds  of  a  higher  civilization.  The  knowledge  thus 
acquired  of  this  magnificent  country,  with  its  broad  avenues 
of  rrade,  its  prolific  soil,  and  varied  climate,  could  not  fail 
to  excite  new  enterprises,  and  from  this  time  forward  suc- 
cee  ling  the  death  of  La  Salle  in  1687,  up  to  the  close  of  the 
seventeenth  century,  permanent  French  settlements  were 
established  in  the  Illinois  country,  of  which  the  present 
towns  of  Kaskaskia,  Cahokia,  and  Peoria  are  the  true  lin- 
eal de^cendents.   On  the  2d  of  March,  1699,  D'Iberville,  the 


12 


THE    MISSISSIPPI    VALLEY 


daring  arctic  explorer  of  Hudson  Bay,  and  afterwards  the 
first  regularly  appointed  French  governor  of  Louisiana,  en- 
tered the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi  from  the  Gulf,  this  being 
the  first  authentic  record  of  a  regular  sailing  vessel  reaching 
lower  Louisiana  by  this  route. 

With  the  close  of  the  seventeenth  century,  and  the  ush- 
ering in  of  the  year  1700,  we  leave  behind  the  romance  of 
discovery  and  adventure,  and  enter  upon  the  more  common- 
place details  of  civilized  history.  The  Mississippi  river  is 
no  longer  a  mythical  stream,  aftbrding,  it  may  be,  an  outlet 
to  the  South  8ea  and  the  Indies.  Its  navigable  waters  have 
been  accurately  traced,  and  its  principal  tributaries  have 
been  laid  down  in  published  maps.  The  nature  of  the 
country  through  which  it  Hows,  and  the  aboriginal  tribes 
that  occup}?  its  banks  have  been  described  in  more  or  less 
detail,  though  it  must  be  admitted,  too  often  clothed  with 
exaggerated  features.  It  is  a  wilderness  to  be  redeemed 
from  heathenism  to  Christianity,  and  where  to  all  appear- 
ances French  civilization  will  establish  a  permanent  foot- 
hold in  the  new  world.  The  men  to  accomplish  this  great 
work  were  being  educated  in  the  cloisters  of  the  Catholic 
church,  or  trained  to  endurance  in  the  rude  school  of  Can- 
adian frontier  life.  It  would  be  difiicult  to  find  elements 
more  promising  for  attaining  grand  results;  every  thing 
seemed  to  point  to  French  supremacy.  Spain  was  absorbed 
in  her  rich  southern  dependencies,  and  English  colonies 
were  but  slowly  struggling  into  permanent  settlement  along 
the  Atlantic  seaboard.  In  the  west,  France  was  without 
a  rival;  her  policy  of  ingratiating  the  good  will  of  the  abo- 
riginal tribes,  by  generous  treatment,  and  securing  their  re- 
spect by  the  imposing  ceremonies  of  a  religion  addressed 
largely  to  the  senses,  preserved  the  early  French  settlers 
from  many  of  the  dangers  to  which  Spanish  cruelty,  and 
English  overbearance,  exposed  their  respective  colonies. 
Hence,  we  find  little  to  record  in  the  matter  of  Indian  wars 


-41 


t 


and  bloody  massacres  of  defenceless  settlements.  Still  the 
country  was  difficuH  to  reach,  and  means  of  conveyance 
were  expensive  and  hazardous,  rendering  the  progress  of 
settlement  slow  and  uncertain.  It  was  under  these  circum- 
stances that  the  French  government,  desirous  of  promoting 
a  more  rapid  growth,  in  accordance  with  the  views  then 
prevalent,  granted  a  monopoly  of  the  trade  of  the  country 
for  fifteen  vears,  to  a  successful  and  wealthv  merchant,  M. 
Crozat,  this  grant  bearing  date  September  14th,  1712.  Af- 
ter an  unsuccessful  experience  of  five  years,  during  which 
Crozat,  instead  of  realizing  immense  wealth,  only  dimin- 
ished his  private  fortunes,  and  failed  to  add  to  the  growth 
and  prosperity  of  the  country,  he  surrendered  his  grant, 
which  passed  into  the  hands  of  an  organization  known  as 
the  Mississippi  Company,  under  the  management  of  a  cele- 
brated financial  schemer,  John  Law,  a  visionary  Scotchman. 
The  ostensible  plan  of  this  company  was  to  enrich  every 
body  connected  with  it  by  a  gigantic  system  of  credit,  based 
on  undeveloped  mineral  w^-^Uh  and  agricultural  resources 
yet  unrealized.  The  first  efi:ect  of  this  scheme  was  greatly 
to  encourage  emigration;  glowing  prospects  were  held  out 
to  the  settler  of  sudden  wealth  attained  without  labor,  and 
independent  of  capital.  Hence,  at  this  period  we  note  the 
location  of  some  of  the  principal  towns  of  Lower  Louisiana, 
including  New  Orleans,  dating  from  1720,  Natchez,  as  early 
as  1716.  Upper  Louisiana  was  too  far  removed  to  share  to 
any  considerable  extent  in  these  enterprises,  though  mining 
schemes  were  extensively  projected  in  the  lead  regions  of 
Missouri  and  the  Upper  Mississippi  valley.  The  final  col- 
lapse of  this  bubble,  which,  after  a  nominal  existence  of 
barely  fifteen  years,  finally  exploded,  though  necessarily  dis- 
astrous to  those  directly  engaged,  who  had  at  the  com- 
mencement anything  to  loose,  nevertheless,  to  the  country 
at  large,  left  some  permanent  benefits,  among  which  we 
may  enuTQerate  a  manifest  increase  of  population,  more  at- 


tention  given  to  agriculture,  as  well  as  the  addition  of  such 
staple  articles  of  production  as  rice,  sugar,  and  tobacco  in 
the  south,  and  wheat  in  the  Illinois  country.  As  one  of 
the  darkest  shades  upon  this  bright  side  of  the  picture,  we 
are  also  compelled  to  note  the  iirst  introduction  of  negro 
slaves  into  Louisiana,  under  the  auspices  of  the  Mississippi 
Company  in  1719.  It  was  during  this  period  of  time  also, 
that  Spanish  jealousy  made  itself  conspicuous  by  encroach- 
ments on  the  French  colonies,  both  on  the  east  and  west, 
from  Florida  and  Mexico.  The  year  1729  was  memorable 
for  the  massacre  of  the  French  colony  at  T^atchez,  by  the 
Natchez  Indians,  who  were  provoked  to  this  act  by  repeated 
insults  and  injuries  received  from  the  French  military  au- 
thorities. In  the  following  year  this  flourishing  tribe  was 
in  its  turn  almost  completely  extirpated,  only  a  miserable 
remnant  of  survivors  being  sent  to  end  their  days  as  slaves 
in  San  Domingo.  Subsequent  to  the  failure  of  the  Mississ- 
ippi scheme,  the  country  gradually  inoreased  in  population 
and  wealth.  The  period  of  time  from  1732  to  1754,  being 
regarded  as  the  palmy  days  of  French  settlement  in  the  Ill- 
inois country.  Hereis  what  a  French  writer,  Vivier,  writes 
of  Illinois,  in  a  letter  dated  June  8th,  1750  (Annals  of  West, 
page  38) : 

"  We  have  here  whites,  negroes,  and  Indians,  to  say  noth- 
ing of  cross-breeds.  There  are  five  French  villages,  and 
three  villages  of  the  natives  within  a  space  of  twenty-one 
leagues,  situated  between  the  Mississippi  and  a  village 
called  the  Karkadiad  (Kaskaskias).  In  the  five  French  vil- 
lages are  perhaps  eleven  hundred  whites,  three  hundred 
blacks,  and  some  sixty  red  slaves  or  savages.  The  three 
Illinois  towns  do  not  contain  more  than  eight  hundred  souls, 
all  told.  Most  of  the  French  till  the  soil,  they  raise  wheat, 
cattle,  pigs,  and  horses,  and  live  like  princes.  Three  times 
as  much  is  produced  as  can  be  consumed,  and  great  quanti- 
ties of  grain  and  flour  are  sent  to  New  Orleans." 


'1 


1 


AN   HISTORICAL   ADDRESS. 


15 


At  this  latter  period  commencing  with  the  year  1754,  the 
hii^'ory  of  the  western  country  becomes  involved  in  the  bit- 
ter and  relentless  wars  between  France  and  England  for 
-\merican  supremacy.  France  at  the  first,  occupying  the 
most  advantageous  ground,  became  the  successful  aggressor, 
and  was  then  engaged  in  carrying  out  the  grand  military  de- 
sign of  maintaining  a  continuous  line  of  forts  from  Canada 
to  the  Mexican  Gulf,  including  the  head  of  navigation  on 
the  Ohio.  It  was  at  this  time  occured  the  memorable  de- 
feat of  Braddock,  in  attempting  the  capture  of  Fort  Du 
Quesne,  July  9th,  1755.  It  was  in  managing  the  retreat 
from  this  disaster,  that  the  military  genius  of  Washington 
was  first  brought  into  notice.  A  few  years  later,  in  1767, 
occurred  the  massacre  of  Fort  William  Henry,  on  Lake 
George,  a  survivor  of  which,  Captain  Jonathan  Carver,  as 
we  shall  presently  have  occasion  to  note,  made  an  early  ex- 
ploration of  the  Upper  Mississippi  Valley,  and  published  a 
very  full  and  accurate  account  of  its  geography  and  natural 
resources. 

Following  these  early  successes  however,  the  French  were 
doomed  to  a  continued  series  of  most  disastrous  defeats, 
culminating  in  the  treaty  of  Paris,  of  1 763,  by  which  France 
surrendered  to  Great  Britain  all  her  North  American  pos- 
sessions east  of  the  Mississippi,  including  the  whole  of  Can- 
ada, with  the  exception  of  some  small  fishing  islands  off  the 
Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence,  still  held  by  France,  which  together 
with  certain  West  India  possessions,  comprises  all  that  this 
great  European  power  now  controls  in  the  western  hemis- 
phere. Cotemporary  with  this  important  event  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  Mississippi  Valley,  we  have  to  note  an  addi- 
tional secret  treaty,  concluded  between  France  and  Spain, 
the  year  previous,  November  3rd,  1762,  by  which  the  for- 
mer ceded  to  Spain  all  her  possessions  west  of  the  Mississ- 
ippi, including  the  country  we  now  occupy,  and  the  Island 
of  Orleans,  this  controling  the  outlet  of  the  Mississippi  river. 


ii 


The  exact  terms  of  the  treaty  (which  Nicolet  characterizes 
as  "  the  everlasting  shameful  one  " )  were  never  published, 
anl  the  fact  wan  tirst  made  known  to  the  inhabitants  of 
Lower  Louisiana,  in  October,  1764.  It  was  not  till  the  year 
1770,  that  Spanish  authority  was  definitely  established  in 
Upper  Louisiana. 

The  mortification  of  the  French  settlers  on  the  eastern 
bank  of  the  Mississippi,  including  the  Illinois  country,  in  be- 
ing thus  unceremoniously  transferred  to  the  rule  of  their  old 
historic  enemies,  the  English,  had  a  manifest  efiect  in  hin- 
dering the  progress  of  settlement,  and  whole  communities 
left  their  homes,  to  seek  others  more  congenial  in  Lower 
Louisiana,  or  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Mississippi,  soon  to 
pass  under  the  less  detested  rule  of  Spain. 

On  account  of  the  isolated  situation  of  the  country,  and 
especially  the  active  opposition  of  the  Indian  tribes,  who  in 
cherishing  kind  regards  to  the  French,  extended  a  no  less 
cordial  hatred  to  their  aggressive  enemies,  the  English, 
military  occupation  of  the  country  was  delayed  till  July  17th, 
1765.  It  was  at  this  period  that  the  celebrated  Indian  war- 
rior, Pontiac,  with  his  confederated  Indian  tribes,  waged  a 
bloody  and  exterminating  war  through  all  the  English  set- 
tlements west  of  the  Alleghenies.  St.  Louis,  the  present  me- 
tropolis of  the  Upper  Mississippi  valley,  also  had  its  origin 
in  these  unsettled  times,  having  been  selected  by  a  Mr.  La- 
clede, as  the  headquarters  of  a  French  fur  trading  establish- 
ment, its  first  actual  occupation  dating  back  to  February 
15th,  1764.  A  very  interesting  account  of  the  early  history 
of  St.  Louis  is  contained  in  Nicolet's  report  on  the  Upper 
Mississippi  valley,  published  by  Congress,  in  1845.  Thus 
have  we  traced  a  brief  outline  of  the  history  of  French  oc- 
cupation of  the  Mississippi  valley,  covering  a  period  of 
ninety  years,  from  the  discovery  of  Marquette,  in  1673,  to 
the  treaty  of  Paris,  of  1763.  It  may  be  briefly  summed  up 
in  the  sparse  and  widely  separated  line  of  settlement  in  the 


^■> 


AN    HISTORICAL    ADDRESS. 


17 


immediate  valley  of  the  Mississippi,  including  New  Orleans, 
Natchez,  Kaskaskia,  Cahokia,  Ft.  Chartres,  and  the  trading 
post  of  Prairie  du  Chien. 


r'Bx 


JOINT  SPANISH  AND  ENGLISH  OCCUPATION  OF  THE 
MISSISSIPPI  VALLEY. 

We  now  come  to  note  the  era  of  Spanish  and  English 
occupation  of  the  Mississippi  Valley,  continuing  in  the  lat- 
ter only  to  the  close  of  the  revolutionary  war  in  1783,  while 
Spanish  rule  extended  to  the  date  of  the  re -transference 
of  Louisiana  from  Spain  to  France,  and  its  purchase  soon 
after  by  the  United  States,  in  1803. 

With  the  accession  of  British  authority  and  the  introduc- 
tion of  an  English-speaking  people,  soon  to  merge  into  the 
great  American  Republic,  we  are  put  in  possession  of  au- 
thentic narratives  and  descriptions  of  the  country,  by  which 
the  thread  of  historical  events  may  be  most  conveniently 
traced.  It  must  be  admitted  that  previous  accounts  by 
French  writers  are,  as  a  general  rule,  tinctured  by  their  ex- 
clusiv^e  national  or  political  views,  and  indicate  not  unfre- 
quently  a  disposition  to  conceal  the  true  state  of  things,  and 
thus  keep  from  other  rival  nationalities  an  exact  knowledge 
of  the  actual  resources  and  capabilities  of  the  country  they 
aim  to  monopolize.  Hence  some  of  the  early  French  maps 
are  purposely  inexact,  and  many  of  the  published  narratives 
were  nothing  but  wholesale  fictions.  Furthermore,  it  is  not 
to  be  wondered  at  that  the  French,  in  surrendering  the 
fruits  of  their  dearly  earned  discoveries  to  the  possession 
and  control  of  their  old  and  hereditary  enemies,  should  de- 
cline to  communicate  the  knowledge  thus  obtained,  or  even 
to  mislead  by  positive  untruths.  Such  at  least  are  the  un- 
contradicted statements  of  cotemporary  English  writers  and 
travelers. 


18 


THE   MISSISSIPPI    VALLEY: 


i! 

■  i 


M 


Among  the  narratives  especiully  worthy  of  attention  in 
the  way  of  authentic  information  of  this  part  of  the  country, 
including  especially  the  upper  Mississippi,  is  that  of  Capt. 
Jonathan  Carver,  an  officer  in  the  American  provincial 
army  in  the  French  war,  and  one  of  the  survivors  of  the 
terrible  Indian  massacre  of  Fort  Wm.  Hetiry,  in  1757. 
With  the  close  of  the  war  this  enterprising  traveler  under- 
took a  journe}'^  of  exploration  to  these  remote  western 
regions,  prompted  by  the  following  laudable  motives,  as 
stated  in  the  introduction  to  his  published  narrative,  from 
which  I  quote :  — 

"No  sooner  was  the  war  with  France  concluded,  and 
peace  established  by  the  treaty  of  Versailles,  in  the  year 
1763,  than  I  began  to  consider  (having  rendered  my  country 
some  services  during  the  war)  how  I  might  continue  still 
serviceable,  and  contribute  as  much  as  lay  in  my  power  to 
make  that  vast  ac(iuisition  of  territory  gained  by  Great 
Britain  in  North  America,  advantageous  to  it.  It  appeared 
to  me  indispensably  needful  that  government  should  be 
acquainted  in  the  first  place  with  the  new  dominions  they 
were  now  become  possessed  of.  To  this  purpose  I  determin- 
ed, as  the  next  proof  of  my  zeal,  to  explore  the  most  unknown 
parts  of  them,  and  to  spare  no  trouble  or  expense  in  acquir- 
ing a  knowledge  that  promised  to  be  advantageous  to  my 
countrymen,"  etc.,  etc. 

The  narrative  following  this  frank  and  straight-forward 
introduction,  considering  the  time  in  which  it  was  written, 
(over  one  hundred  years  ago),  is  certainly  worthy  of  more 
credit  than  it  has  generally  received.  In  his  statements  of  the 
general  features  of  the  country,  its  scenery,  and  natural 
productions,  there  is  even  less  of  exaggeration  than  in  many 
of  the  books  of  the  present  day.  The  principal  localities 
tliere  referred  to  can  be  readily  located,  and  the  exactness 
of  description  fully  verified.  It  is  in  this  view  of  credibility, 
as  applied  to  the  general  aspects  of  the  country  ,^that  especial 


AN    HISTORICAL   ADDRESS. 


19 


value  attaches  to  bis  accounts  of  the  Indian  tribes  of  that 
region,  some  of  which  had  hardly  before  been  visited  by 
civilized  men.  His  views  moreover  of  the  future  of  this 
country  were  far  in  advance  of  his  time,  and  sound  in  a 
measure  almost  prophetic,  as  may  be  seen  from  the  follow- 
ing extract  (Introduction,  p.  28):  — 

"  To  what  power  or  authority  this  new  world  will  become 
dependent  after  it  has  arisen  from  its  present  uncultivated 
state,  time  alone  can  discover.  But  as  the  seat  of  empire 
from  time  immemorial  has  been  gradually  progressing  to- 
wards the  west,  there  is  no  doubt  but  that  at  some  future 
period  mighty  kingdoms  will  emerge  from  these  wilder- 
nesses, and  stately  palaces,  and  solemn  temples  with  gilded 
spires  reaching  the  skies,  supplant  the  Indian  huts  whose 
only  decorations  are  the  barbarous  trophies  of  their  van- 
quished enemies." 

From  the  body  of  the  narrative,  we  learn  that  in  the  year 
1766,  the' route  of  Marquette  in  1673,  by  way  of  Green  Bay 
and  the  Fox  and  Wisconsin  rivers,  had  already  become  a 
well-known  avenue  of  trade  with  the  Indian  tribes  of  the 
northwest.  That  Prairie  du  Chien,  so  named  by  French 
traders,  was  then  occupied  as  a  central  point  for  supplies, 
and  a  general  rendezvous  for  meeting  the  various  Indian 
tribes  occupying  the  upper  Mississippi,  whose  navigable 
waters,  no  longer  silent  and  deserted  as  at  the  time  of  Mar- 
quette's discovery,  afforded  a  ready  means  of  conveyance 
both  north  and  south.  In  pursuing  his  journey  to  the  north- 
west, Capt.  Carver  passed  up  the  Mississippi  from  Prairie 
du  Chien,  by  the  same  mode  of  conveyance  as  that  used  by 
Hennepin  in  1680 — bark  canoes,  and  reached  the  Falls  of 
St.  Anthony  late  in  the  fall  of  1766.  Early  in  December  of 
that  year,  he  followed  up  the  St.  Peters  river,  and  spent 
that  winter  with  some  bands  of  the  Sioux  Indians  occupy- 
ing winter  quarters  north  of  the  great  bend  of  this  river. 
Here,  according  to  his  narrative,  he  was  engaged  in  observ- 


20 


THE    MISSISSIPPI   VALLEY: 


!i 


ing  the  cuatoms  of  these  Indians,  learning  their  language, 
and  acquiring  such  geographical  knowledge  of  the  region 
of  country  to  the  west  as  might  be  available  in  the  prosecu- 
tion of  his  great  scheme  of  penetrating  to  the  Pacific  Ocean. 
His  published  map,  made  up  from  these  various  sources  of 
information,  was  in  point  of  accuracy  far  in  advance  of  any 
before  published,  though  necessarily  defective  in  reference 
to  the  remote  districts,  in  regard  to  which  he  had  to  depend 
upon  the  exaggerated  statements  of  Indians,  whose  infor- 
mation was  conveyed  by  means  of  rough  maps,  traced  with 
charcoal  on  sheets  of  bark. 

In  the  following  season,  not  succeeding  in  his  design  of 
procuring  the  necessary  outfit  and  goods  for  prosecuting  his 
journey  across  the  continent,  he  returned  to  Prairie  du 
Chien,  and  from  there  again  ascended  the  Mississippi  as  far 
as  the  Chippewa  river,  followed  up  the  latter  stream,  and  by 
a  succession  of  portages  reached  Lake  Superior,  where 
most  of  the  summer  and  fall  months  of  1767  were  spent  in 
exploring  its  northern  shores. 

It  was  in  the  course  of  these  various  journeys,  that  Capt. 
Carver,  who,  with  genuine  Yankee  sagacity  seemed  to  have 
been  particularly  attracted  by  the  picturesque  region  on  the 
east  bank  of  the  Mississippi,  lying  between  the  Falls  of  St. 
Anthony  and  that  beautiful  expansion  of  the  Mississippi 
known  as  Lake  Pepin,  secured  from  the  Indian  chiefs  occu- 
pying this  district,  a  grant  of  land,  included  in  the  above 
limits,  and  extending  eastward  four  days  journey,  reckoned 
in  round  numbers  at  one  hundred  and  twenty  miles,  thus 
including  a  large  portion  of  the  present  states  of  Wisconsin 
and  Minnesota.  This  large  grant,  duly  attested  and  signed, 
only  needed  the  confirmation  of  the  British  Crown  to  secure 
to  its  possessor  a  lordly  domain,  in  extent  and  value  equal- 
ing the  broad  patent  of  Charles  II.  to  William  Penn.  To 
secure  this  rich  prize,  Carver,  on  the  completion  of  his  jour- 
ney in  1769,  sailed  for  England  and  laid  his  papers  and 


AN    HISTORICAL    ADDRESS. 


21 


petition  before  George  IIT.  Unfortunately  for  tlie  HuccesB 
of  this  flcheme,  the  difficulties  which  eventuated  in  the  war 
of  American  Independence  interposed  delayn  and  subse- 
quent failure,  and  Carver,  unable  to  secure  his  claim  or  to 
receive  any  compensation  for  his  services  from  the  British 
Crown,  died  in  actual  poverty  in  1780,  in  London,  soon 
after  the  publication  of  his  travels. 

This  so-called  Carver's  grant  was  afterward  transferred 
to  various  parties,  and  was  brought  before  the  United  States 
Congress  with  a  view  to  the  ratification  'of  Carver's  claim, 
but  for  want  of  sufficient  evidence,  was  reported  agaii^st 
and  the  claim  disallowed.  A  very  full  and  condensed  doc- 
umentary history  of  this  claim  is  contained  in  Vol.  VI.  of 
Wisconsin  state  historical  collections,  lately  published.  The 
war  of  American  Independence,  which  so  seriously  inter- 
fered with  Capt.  Carver's  land  speculation  in  the  northwest, 
produced  little  outward  effect  in  the  S[>ar8e  and  remote  set- 
tlements of  the  Mississippi  Valley,  except  doubtless  in 
checking  emigration. 

There  was  at  this  time  little  to  encourage  military  occu- 
pation among  the  peaceful  French  settlers  of  Illinois,  while 
at  the  same  time  the  outlet  of  the  Mississippi  and  its  west- 
ern bank  was  under  the  military  rule  of  8pain,  then  in  hos- 
tility with  Great  Britain.  In  this  condition  of  aftairs,  Eng- 
land was  content  with  holding  a  menancing  attitude  to- 
wards the  northwest  from  her  strong-hold  at  Mackinaw, 
andthepossessionof  Detroit,  which  was  maintained  through 
the  war. 

Only  two  prominent  events  directly  connected  with  the 
history  of  this  region  need  arrest  our  attention  during  this 
eventful  period,  viz :  The  successful  attack  on  St.  Louis,  by 
British  and  Indian  forces,  in  1780,  and  the  military  occupa- 
tion of  Illinois,  by  Col.  George  K.  Clark,  of  Virginia.  The 
attack  on  St.  Louis,  then,  of  course,  under  Spanish  rule, 
was  directly  instigated  as  a  matter  of  retaliation  for  the  part 


"I 


22 


THE   MISSISSIPPI   VALLEY: 


taken  by  Spain  in  favor  of  the  independence  of  the  United 
States;  the  friendship  of  Spain  in  this  instance,  being  due 
more  to  hatred  and  jealousy  of  England,  than  any  sincere 
love  for  the  struggling  American  republic.      The  attack 
was  planned  as  a  surprise,  and  was  so  far  successful  in  find- 
ing the  inefficient  military  forces  unprepared  for  defence. 
The  date  of  the  attack  as  given  by  Nicolet  was  May  6th, 
1780.     The  Spanish  garrison  consisting  o^  not  more  than 
sixty  men,  did  little  or  nothing  in  the  way  of  defence,  which 
was  resolutely  made  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  place,  includ- 
ing both  men  and  women.     The  number  of  the  assailants 
was  estimated  at  nearly  one  thousand.     The  resistance  was 
so  vigorously  conducted  that  the  attacking  force  was  obliged 
to  retreat,  and  in  so  doing,  wreaked  their  vengeance  on  the 
unprotected  outside  settlements,  when  not  less  than  sixty 
persons  were  killed,  and  thirteen  taken  prisoners.     This  de- 
fence of  St.  Louis,  which  if  the  attack  has  been  successful, 
would  have  involved  according  to  the  experience  of  those 
times  an  indiscriminate  slaughter  of  its  inhabitants,  has 
been  partly  ascribed  to  an  active  interferance  by  American 
troops,  then  in  possession  of  the  British  forts  on  the  east 
bank  of  the  river,  but  according  to  Mr.  Nicolet,  there  is  no 
reliable  evidence  in  support  of  this  statement,  though  doubt- 
less, Americans,  in  their  private  capacity  as  citizens  of  St. 
Louis,  took  a  prominent  part  in  resisting  the  attack. 

The  capture  and  retention  of  the  British  forts  in  the  Illi" 
nois  country,  and  on  the  Wabash,  was  a  military  enterprise, 
planned  and  successfully  carried  out  by  Col.  George  R.  Clark, 
of  Virginia,  under  written  instructions  from  Patrick] Henry, 
the  eloquent  orator,  then  governor  of  that  state.  Fort 
Kaskaskia  was  taken  by  surprise,  on  the  4th  day  of  July, 
1778,  and  on  the  24th  of  February'  following,  1779,  the 
British  fort  at  Vincennes  was  also  captured,  thus  effectually 
putting  an  end  to  British  military  occupation  in  this  portion 
of  the  west.     An  interesting  detailed  account  of  this  adven- 


I 


turous  expedition  of  Col.  Clark,  is  contained  in  the  Annals 
of  the  West,  covering  the  period  of  1778  and  1779. 

With  the  acknowledgment  o I  American  independence  by 
the  treaty  of  1783,  the  east  bank  of  the  Mississippi  valley,  as 
far  south  as  31°  north  latitude,  became  an  integral  part  of 
the  United  States  territory,  while  Spain  still  retained  her 
possession  of  the  west  bank,  including  the  navigable  outlet 
of  this  valley.  This  ill-defined  boundry,  especially  object- 
ionable in  the  control  thus  given  to  Spain,  over  the  free  nav- 
igation of  the  Mississippi,  was  the  cause  of  much  disagree- 
ment, naturally  increasing  with  the  progressive  advance  of 
settlement  in  the  upper  country.  Spain,  from  the  first,  jeal- 
ous of  the  progress  of  the  new  republic,  established  on  her 
very  borders,  whose  institutions  were  so  at  variance  with  all 
her  policy  and  national  exclusiveness,  nsod  her  position  to 
check  this  growth,  and  if  possible,  break  up  the  federal 
union.  In  this  view,  she  placed  obstructions  on  commerce, 
denied  the  right  before  guaranteed  of  free  navigation  of  the 
Mississippi,  and  insidiously  fostered,  andj  directly  encour- 
aged plans  for  the  secession  of  the  sor.thwest.  Nothing  but 
the  weakness  of  the  federal  union  prevented  actual  hostil- 
ities, which,  on  several  occasions,  nearly  reached  a  crisis. 
In  fact,  near  the  close  of  the  elder  Adams's  administration 
in  1800,  a  United  States  military  organization  was  fitted  out 
for  the  capture  of  New  Orleans,  and  the  e"xecutio!»  of  this 
military  movement  was  only  prevented  by  the  accession  of 
a  new  administration  under  Jefferson.  [Tnder  these  uncer- 
tain and  discouraging  circumstances  extending  to  the  close 
of  the  eighteenth  century,  the  interests  of  the  entire  Miss- 
issippi valley  were  seriously  injured,  but  with  the  opening 
of  the  present  century,  the  complication  of  European  poli- 
tics again  opened  up  the  way  for  the  extension  of  American 
authority  over  the  entire  Mississippi  valley.  Spain,  fearing 
the  loss  of  her  extensive  colonial  possessions  to  the  south, 
by  a  secret  treaty  with  France,  dated  in  1802,  transferred  to 


It 


that  power,  then  under  the  military  rule  of  Bonaparte,  her 
entire  possessions  in  the  Mississippi  vallej-,  including  Upper 
and  Lower  Louisiana.  By  this  treaty,  the  soil  we  now  oc- 
cupy, after  an  interval  of  about  forty  years  of  Spanish  rule, 
again  passed  under  the  control  of  France.  Napoleon,  at 
this  time,  absorbed  in  his  gigantic  schemes  for  establishing 
the  French  empire  and  controling  the  policy  of  Europe, 
found  little  opportunity  to  attend  to  the  interests  of  a  dis- 
tant colony,  and  thus,  fortunately  for  the  cause  of  American 
republicanism,  the  formidable  coalition  of  the  European 
powers  obliged  this  ambitious  military  ruler  to  concen- 
trate all  his  efforts  on  European  soil.  Hence,  after  little 
more  than  a  year's  nominal  jurisdiction,  he  disposed  of  this 
newly  acquired  territory  of  Upper  and  Lower  Louisiana 
to  the  United  States  for  $15,000,000. 

The  date  of  December  20th,  1803,  by  which  the  final 
transfer  was  made  by  France  to  the  United  States  of  this 
trans-Mississippi  region,  marks  an  event  which  may 
worthily  occupy  the  first  page  of  a  history  which  in  the  su*> 
ceeding  seventy  years  progress,  has  astonished  the  world. 

Jefl'erson,  the  master  spirit  in  bringing  about  this  new 
acquisition,  was  not  only  a  far-seeing  statesman,  but  an  em- 
inently practical  man,  and  to  his  wise  policy  we  are  mainly 
indebted  for  the  series  of  government  explorations  inaugur- 
ated by  him  for  determining  the  actual  character  and  re- 
sources of  this  western  region.  It  vvould  be  but  a  just  com- 
memoration of  the  early  services  of  this  great  statesman,  to 
affix  the  name  of  Jefferson  to  some  well  defined  state  to  be 
carved  out  of  these  rapidly  developing  western  territories, 
to  include,  if  possible,  under  natural  boundaries,  the  head 
sources  of  the  grand  rivers  flowing  east  and  west  from  the 
great  continental  water-shed. 

With  the  era  of  western  explorations  commencing  with 
the  adventurous  journey  of  Lewis  and  Clark,  in  1804-5-6, 
to  the  Pacific  ocean  by  way  of  the  head  waters  of  the  Miss- 


J    ! 


AN    HISTORICAL    ADDRESS. 


25 


ouri  and  the  Columbia  rivers,  we  come  to  notice  as  directly 
connected  with  the  progress  of  settlement  in  the  Mississippi 
Valley,  the  expedition  of  Lt.  Pike,  in  1805-6,  from  St.  Louis 
to  the  supposed  head  waters  of  the  Mississippi. 

In  this  succinct  and  quaintly  written  narrative,  we  get  a 
clear  and  connected  view  of  the  natural  aspects  and  civil- 
ized development  of  this  region,  after  a  lapse  of  one  hundred 
and  thirty-two  years  from  its  first  discovery  by  Marquette. 
St.  Louis,  then,  as  now,  recognized  as  the  metropolis  of  this 
Upper  Mississippi  Valley,  having  thrown  oft' the  shackles  of 
Spanish  exclusiveness,  had  commenced  its  permanent 
growth  as  an  American  city.  From  this  point  (while  Lewis 
and  Clarke's  expedition  was  still  in  progress)  Lieut.  Pike 
started  on  his  journey  up  the  Mississippi  river  on  the  9th 
of  August,  1805.  His  outfit  occupying  a  single-keel  boat, 
comprised  a  party  of  twenty  men  and  provisions  for  four 
months.  The  journey,  necessarily  slow  and  laborious  ex- 
cept when  aided  by  a  favorable  wind,  allowed  frequent 
shore  excursions  by  hunting  parties,  generally  accompanied 
by  Pike  himself.  Thus  the  character  of  the  adjoining  coun- 
try came  under  the  careful  inspection  of  this  intelligent  ex- 
plorer. The  mpp  accompanying  his  report  lays  down,  with 
considerable  accuracy,  the  main  features  of  the  region  thus 
passed  over,  including  river  tributaries,  high  points  of  land, 
open  prairies,  Indiiin  villages,  &c.,  &c.  The  distances  are 
also  carefully  noted  in  the  daily  journal,  interspersed  with 
occasional  remarks  and  suggestions,  serving  to  give  a  life- 
like character  to  the  narrative.  By  an  unforeseen  accident, 
two  men  of  the  party,  making  their  way  by  land  along  the 
Iowa  shore,  just  below  the  island  formed  by  the  Muscatine 
slough,  were  cut  oft'  from  the  main  river  channel,  and  thus 
separated  from  the  boat  party.  In  this  dilemma  they  did 
not  succeed  in  joining  their  comrades  till  they  were  picked 
up  by  some  trading  parties,  and  brought  as  far  as  Prairie  du 
Chien.     These  two  men,  whose  names  are  not  given  in  the 

4 


26 


THE   MISSISSIPPI   VALLEY: 


narrative,  may  therefore  claim  the  credit  of  being  the  first 
settlers  on  Iowa  soil. 

On  the  27th  of  August  the  mouth  of  Rock  river  is 
reached,  and  a  camp  made  about  four  miles  above  on  the 
west  bank,  which  must  have  brought  them  in  the  vicinity 
of  Davenport,  probably  on  the  land  at  present  owned  by 
Mr.  Hall,  or  Judge  Cook.  In  the  account  of  this  day's 
journey  there  is  a  note  made  of  passing  a  pole  on  a  prairie 
on  which  five  dogs  were  suspended  in  preparation  for  an 
Indian  dog  feast.  Such  feasts,  on  a  still  more  extensive 
scale,  might  at  this  day  be  enjoyed  not  far  from  the  site  of 
Davenport,  without  much  cause  for  regret  to  the  majority  of 
its  civilized  inhabitants. 

Early  on  the  morning  of  August  28th  Lieut.  Pike  reaches 
the  foot  of  the  rapids,  where  he  encountered  a  Mr.  Aird,  a 
Mississippi  fur  trader,  and  accepts  an  invitation  to  a  late 
breakfast.  Mr.  Aird  is  here  delayed,  waiting  for  his  loaded 
boats  to  be  piloted  over  the  rapids,  and  thus  (fortunately  for 
Pike)  the  brief  interval  of  the  morning  meal  is  improved  to 
obtain  all  the  information  possible  from  this  enterprising 
trader.  Under  these  circumstances,  it  is  to  be  feared  that 
this  first  recorded  Davenport  breakfast  was  not  up  to  the 
times  of  the  Grand  Central  Hotel,  being  more  of  an  intel- 
lectual than  a  substantial  repast.  But  the  wind  is  now  fair 
for  an  ascent  of  the  rapids,  and  Pike,  after  a  cordial  parting, 
spreads  his  blanket  to  the  breeze,  and  sails  up  the  rapids 
without  delay  or  hindrance.  At  the  head  of  the  rapids  is 
located  a  village  of  the  Reynard  Fox  Indians.  From  this 
on,  over  the  beautiful  stretches  of  river  scenery  so  familiar 
to  all  of  us,  including  the  rocky  bluffs  below  Dubuque,  and 
the  ever-varied  scenery  above,  Prairie  du  Chien  is  reached, 
on  September  4th,  this  being  the  first  permanent  settle- 
ment on  the  entire  route  above  St.  Louis  —  and  this  less 
than  seventy  years  ago  !  On  the  high  rocky  bluff  on  the 
Iowa  shore,  not  far  from  the  present  site  of  the  town  of  Mc- 


AN   HISTORICAL   ADDRESS. 


27 


Gregor,  Pike  selected  the  site  of  a  military  post,  which, 
however,  was  never  occupied  as  such. 

On  September  21st,  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Peters  is 
reached,  and  after  some  time  spent  in  that  vicinity,  nego- 
tiating with  the  Indian  tribes,  and  securing  the  site  for  a 
military  post,  since  known  as  "Fort  Snelling,"  he  com- 
mences the  arduous  trip  above  the  Falls  of  St.  Anthony, 
encountering  all  the  vicissitudes  of  a  winter  campaign  in 
that  inclement  region,  the  details  of  which  would  occupy 
too  much  time.  Suffice  it  to  say,  that  the  supposed  source 
of  the  Mississippi  was  reached,  its  course  mapped  out,  and 
the  character  of  the  extensive  lakes  and  marshes  of  this 
district  fully  made  known.  Pike's  return  voyage  was  com- 
pleted on  the  30th  of  April,  1806,  after  an  absence  of  nearly 
nine  months. 

Not  many  years  succeeding  Pike's  expedition  occurred 
the  second  war  with  England,  generally  known  as  "  The 
war  of  1812."  Among  other  causes  leading  to  this  renewed 
hostility  between  the  two  countries  was  a  most  flagrant  in- 
terference by  British  traders  with  the  Indian  tribes  of  the 
northwest,  then  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  United  States. 
In  fact,  not  only  the  English  fur  traders,  whose  business  was 
likely  to  be  curtailed  by  the  active  competition  of  American 
citizens,  but  the  British  frontier  military  authorities  used  all 
their  influence  to  promote  hostility  between  the  various  In- 
dian tribes  and  the  enterprising  settlers  then  pushing  their 
way  into  the  inviting  northwestern  country.  Nor  was  this 
interference  confined  to  misrepresentation  of  the  character 
and  designs  of  the  United  States  government,  but  to  the 
actual  furnishing  of  arms,  ammunition,  and  supplies  for 
prosecuting  their  murderous  attacks  on  the  feeble  settle- 
ments of  the  west.  Thus  the  Indian  rifle,  whose  startling 
peals  woke  the  forest  solitudes,  bringing  dismay  and  death 
to  many  a  hardy  frontiersman,  and  the  tomahawk,  crushing 
through  the  brain  of  defenceless  victims,  were  manufactured 


28 


THE    MISSISSIPPI   VALLEY 


in  English  shops,  and  formed  a  not  inconsiderable  item  in 
the  ordinary  supplies  for  the  Indian  trade.  Under  these 
circumstances,  the  war  of  1812,  generally  regarded  in  his- 
torical annals  as  a  maratime  contest,  presented  far  other 
features  to  the  enterprising  settlers  of  the  west.  To  them 
it 'implied  a  fearful  aggravation  of  the  difficulties  and  dan- 
gers by  which  they  had  been  constantly  surrounded,  as  well 
as  the  liability  to  open  attack  from  those  whose  hostilities 
had  been  confined  to  more  underhanded  measures,  in  insti- 
gating others.  Nor  had  they  to  wait  long  for  these  open 
manifestations.  Mackinaw,  the  key  to  the  northwest,  then 
occupied  by  a  weak  garrison  of  barely  fifty-seven  men,  was 
captured  by  a  British  force  on  July  17th,  1812,  before  the 
news  of  an  actual  declaration  of  war  had  reached  that  re- 
mote station.  In  less  than  a  month  after  (August  16th), 
Detroit  was  also  disgracefully  surrendered  by  its  incompe- 
tent commander.  General  Hull.  Still  more  disastrous  was 
the  retreat  and  massacre  at  Ft.  Dearborn  (Chicago),  occur- 
ring on  the  15th  of  August  of  that  same  year.  In  this  re- 
treat, fully  equalling  in  barbarity  the  massacre  of  Ft.  Wm. 
Henry  in  1757,  nearly  two-thirds  of  the  retreating  party 
were  killed  by  the  Indians ;  and  the  scene  of  this  terrible 
catastrophe  along  the  lake  shore  southeast  of  Chicago  was, 
for  years,  marked  by  the  ghastly  trophies  of  Indian  bar- 
barity. 

Had  there  been  sufficient  inducements  in  the  way  of 
plunder,  no  doubt  the  Upper  Mississippi,  then  at  the  mercy 
of  the  British  forces,  backed  by  their  savage  allies,  would 
have  presented  a  repetition  of  these  scenes  of  war  and 
massacre.  But  the  settlements  were  sparse,  and  difficult  of 
access,  besides  offering  little  substantial  results  for  the  dan- 
gers to  be  incurred.  St.  Louis,  then  the  military  headquar- 
ters of  the  United  States  forces,  was  far  distant  and  too 
strongly  manned  to  justify  an  attack  by  the  limited  means 
at  the  command  of  the  British  outposts.     Hence,  with  the 


1 1 


AN   HISTORICAL   ADDRESS. 


29 


exception  of  occasional  Indian  skirmishes  in  the  vicinity  of 
the  settlements  above  and  below  St.  Louis  —  in  which  the 
well-known  warrior,  Black  Hawk,  took  a  prominent  part — 
we  have  little  to  note  in  the  way  of  historical  incident  per- 
taining to  this  immediate  section  of  country  till  the  year 
1814.  At  this  time,  the  success  which  had  attended  the 
American  arms  in  the  defeat  of  the  Indians  under  Tecum- 
seh.  Perry's  victory  on  Lake  Erie,  and  the  retaking  of  De- 
troit, induced  the  United  States  militarv  authorities  at  St. 
Louis  to.  give  some  attention  to  securing  the  important  mil- 
itary position  at  Prairie  du  Chien,  then  threatened  by  the 
British  forces  at  Mackinaw.  Accordingly,  in  the  spring  of 
1814,  some  gunboats  were  sent  up  with  a  view  to  protect 
the  feeble  garrison  then  engaged  in  enlarging  their  means 
of  defence.  But  before  these  arrangements  could  be  prop- 
erly carried  out,  a  British  military  expedition,  composed 
largely  of  Indian  traders,  clerks,  and  employes  in  the  inter- 
est of  the  English  fur-trading  companies,  with  the  usual 
complement  of  Indian  savages^  the  whole  being  under  com- 
mand of  Col.  McKay,  left  Mackinaw,  and  by  the  usual  trav- 
eled route  made  their  appearance  unexpectedly  before  the 
feeble  Fort,  and  demanded  its  surrender.  According  to  the 
most  reliable  authorities,  this  attack  occurred  on  July  17th. 
Lieut.  Perkins,  the  American  officer  in  command  of  the 
Fort,  at  tirst  declined  to  surrender,  but  after  several  days 
skirmishing,  the  supply  of  ammunition  being  nearly  exhaust- 
ed, and  especially  fears  of  a  general  Indian  massacre  in  case 
of  a  successful  assault,  induced  a  capitulation  on  the  fourth 
day.  As  soon  after  as  practicable  the  American  troops 
were  sent  down  the  river  to  St.  Louis,  being  escorted  as  far 
as  Rock  river  by  a  small  company  of  British  soldiers,  to 
prevent  them  from  Indian  assault  in  their  defenceless  con- 
dition. 

Before  the  fact  of  this  capture  was  made  known  to  the 
military  authorities  at  St.  Louis,  Lieut.  Campbell  had  been 


30 


THE   MISSISSIPPI   VALLEY: 


sent  with  men  and  supplies  to  reinforce  the  feeble  garrison. 
He  had  proceeded  as  far  as  Rock  Island,  where  he  had  an 
interview  with  Black  Hawk,  who  then  claimed  to  be  neu- 
tral, though  unquestionably  secretly  espousing  the  cause  of 
the  British.  Just  after  this  interview,  the  news  of  the 
capture  of  Prairie  du  Chien  was  received  b}'  Black  Hawk 
from  an  Indian  runner,  and  deeming  this  a  favorable  op- 
portunity to  throw  off  his  assumed  neutrality,  a  party  under 
the  leadership  of  this  celebrated  chieftain  started  in  pursuit 
of  Campbell's  party.  They  were  overtaken  while  carelessly 
preparing  for  a  noon  repast,  in  the  narrow  channel  separat- 
ing Campbell's  Island  from  the  Illinois  shore,  one  boat 
being  fastened  to  the  main  bank,  while  another  was  an- 
chored a  short  distance  out  in  the  stream.  The  attack  was 
made  by  rapid  firin.  from  a  concealed  ambuscade,  with  a 
view  to  cut  off' and  destroy  the  party  in  the  shore  boat.  By 
great  risk  and  exposure  the  boat  in  the  current  was  turned 
toward  the  shore,  and  the  threatened  land  party  transferred 
to  it,  when  the  shore  boat  was  abandoned,  and  left  to  be 
plundered  and  burned  by  these  treacherous  savages.  Lieut. 
Campbell,  himself  severel}^  wounded  in  the  encounter,  as 
well  as  several  of  his  men,  finally  made  good  their  retreat, 
and  returned  to  St.  Louis  to  report  the  ill  result  of  their  ex- 
pedition. This  unfortunate  commander  has  inadvertently 
secured  permanent  recognition  of  his  disaster,  by  having 
his  name  affixed  to  what  is  still  known  as  "  Campbell's 
Island." 

Doubtless  from  the  representations  made  by  Lt.  Camp- 
bell on  his  return  to  St.  Louis,  as  well  as  from  other  evi- 
dences of  hostility  on  the  part  of  the  Indians  on  Rock 
river,  a  militaiy  expedition  was  fitted  out  in  August,  with 
a  view  to  punish  them,  and  if  possible  bring  them  to  terms. 
The  command  of  this  expedition  was  confided  to  a  no  less 
important  personage  than  Major  Zachary  Taylor,  since 
president  of  the  United  States. 


i 


i 


Major  Taylor,  with  his  well-manned  fleet,  anticipating  of 
course  an  easy  victory  over  the  poorly  equipped  Indian 
warriors  of  Rock  river,  reached  the  scene  of  his  operations 
just  in  front  of  the  present  city  of  Davenport,  on  a  bright 
morning  in  August.  Here  he  was  considerably  dismayed 
to  find  Indians  dressed  in  British  uniform  on  the  Rock  Is- 
land shore,  manning  two  formidable  pieces  of  artillery,  set 
in  a  line  with  other  painted  guns,  looking  equally  formidable 
at  a  distance  It  would  seem  that  Col.  McKay,  the  capturer 
of  Prairie  du  Chien,  had  anticipated  this  expedition,  and 
accordingly  taken  measures  to  prevent  any  advances  that 
might  subsequently  weaken  his  position  at  Prairie  du  Chien. 
Hence  the  tirst  salute  that  Major  Taylor  received  was  a 
well-aimed  shot,  which  struck  without  disabling  the  advance 
boat,  which  he  himself  occupied  ;  a  second  shot  took  away 
the  rudder  of  another  boat,  the  painted  guns,  so  far  as  we 
can  learn,  not  doing  much  execution.  The  disabled  boat 
was  fast  drifting  toward  the  Iowa  shore,  where  large  par- 
ties of  Indians  were  seen  lurking  in  expectation  of  securing 
an  easy  prey. 

In  this  critical  juncture  it  was  necessary  for  some  one  to 
cast  a  rope  from  the  disabled  boat  in  order  that  it  might  be 
taken  in  tow,  and  thus  removed  from  imminent  danger  of 
capture  by  the  Indians.  This  was  courageously  done  by 
a  young  soldier  named  Paul  Harpole,  who,  not  satisfied 
with'this  proof  of  his  bravery,  stood  up  exposed  to  the  fire 
of  the  Indians  on  the  shore,  and  as  loaded  guns  were 
handed  to  him,  fired  fourteen  times  into  the  crowd,  doing 
evident  [execution;  after  the  fourteenth  fire,  Harpole  him- 
self was  shot  in  the  forehead,  and  falling  overboard,  drifted 
to  the  shore,  where  the  men  on  the  retreating  boats  saw  his 
body  inhumanly  cut  to  pieces.  In  the  monument  which 
Scott'county,  Iowa,  proposes  to  erect  to  her  fallen  heroes 
during  thejate  war,  the  name  of  Paul  Harpole,  and  the 
date  of  August,  1814  should  properly  head  the  list,  as  com- 


82 


THE   MISSISSIPPI   VALLEY: 


memorating  the  first  American  soldier  that  fell  in  the  ser- 
vice of  his  country,  on  our  Iowa  soil.  This  retreat  of  Ma- 
jor Taylor  (thirty-two  years  later  the  hero  of  Buena  Vista,) 
can  hardly  be  considered  under  the  "circumstanv.es  as  any 
reflection  on  his  military  character;  evidently  it  was'not'the 
painted  guns  that  frightened  him.  We  only  learn'^further 
from  one  of  the  participants  in  this  expedition  that  Major 
Taylor  stopped  for  repairs  on  the  Illinois  shore,  three  miles 
below  the  mouth  of  Rock  river,  from  which  point  he  re- 
turned to  St.'Xouis.  It  is  hardly  necessaryjto  state  that 
the  account  of  this  affair  contained  in  "Davenport  Past  and 
Present"  is  in  almost  every  item  incorrect. 

No  doubt  the  circumstances  attending  this  expedition,  as 
well  as  the  location  of  the  populous  Indian  villages  on  Rock 
river,  called  attention  to  the  position  of  Rock  Island  as  a 
desirable  point  for  the  establishment  of  a' frontier  military 
post.  Accordingly  after  the  war,  in  1816,  Fort  Armstrong 
was  built  and  occupied,  being  so  named  after  Gen.  John 
Armstrong,  the  eflicient  secretary  of  war,  under  Madison's 
administration. 

In  the  year  1823,  Major  Long's  expedition  to  the  sources 
of  the  St.  Peters  and  the  Red  River  of  the  North  was  car- 
ried out.  The  report  of  this  exploration,  published  in  Lon- 
don in  1825,  gives  an  interesting  view  of  the  country  along 
the  line  of  travel,  and  is  particularly  full  in  its  account  of 
the  Indian  tribes  of  the  northwest.  The  notice  there  given 
of  Chicago  fifty  years  ago  does  not  compare  very  well  with 
the  accomplished  result  of  half  a  century,  and  would  excite 
the  risibilities  of  a  Chicagoan  of  1873.  It  may*  be  worth 
while  to  quote  a  few  remarks  here  on  this  head  as  showing 
how  scientific  men  may  be  often  greatly  deceived  in  their 
estimates.     I  quote  from  pp.  164-5-6,  viz':  — 

"  We  were  much  disappointed  at  Chicago  and  its  vicinity. 
We  found  in  it  nothing  to  justify  the  great  eulogium  lav- 
ished upon  the  place  by  a  late  traveler  (Schoolcraft),  who 


i 


observes  that  '  it  is  the  most  fertile  and  beautiful  that  can 
be  imagined.'  'As  a  farming  country,'  says  he,  'it  unites 
the  fertile  soil  of  the  finest  lowland  prairies  with  an  eleva- 
tion which  exempts  it  from  the  influence  of  stagnant  waters, 
and  a  summer  climate  of  delightful  serenity.'  The  best 
comment  upon  this  descrijition  of  the  climate  and  soil  is  the 
fact  that  with  the  utmost  vigilance  on  the  part  of  the  officers, 
it  was  impossible  for  the  garrison,  consisting  of  from  seventy 
to  ninety  men,  to  subsist  upon  the  grain  raised  in  the  coun- 
try, although  much  of  their  time  was  devoted  to  agricultu- 
ral pursuits.  The  difficulties  which  the  agriculturist 
meets  with  are  numerous:  they  arise  from  the  shalKn  ness 
of  the  soil,  from  its  humidity,  and  from  its  exposure  to  the 
cold  damp  winds  which  blow  from  the  lake,  with  great 
force  during  most  of  the  year.  The  grain  is  frequently  de- 
stroyed by  swarms  of  insects.  There  are  also  a  number  of 
destructive  birds,  of  which  it  was  impossible  for  the  garri- 
son to  avoid  the  baneful  inHueuce,  except  by  keeping,  as 
was  practiced  at  Ft.  Dearborn,  a  party  of  soldiers  constant- 
ly engaged  in  shooting  at  the  crows  and  black-birds,  that 
committed  depi-edations  upon  the  corn  planted  by  them. 
But  even  with  all  these  exertions,  the  maize  seldom  has  time 
to  ripen,  owing  to  the  shortness  and  coldness  of  the  season. 
The  provisions  of  the  garrison  were  for  the  most  part  con- 
veyed from  Mackinaw  in  a  schooner,  and  sometimes  they 
were  brought  from  St.  Louis,  a  distance  of  three  hundred 
and  eighty-six  miles,  up  the  Illinois  and  Des  Plaines  rivers. 
"The  appearance  of  the  country  near  Chicago  offers  but 
few  features  upon  which  the  eye  of  the  traveler  can  dwell 
with  pleasure.  There  is  too  much  uniformity  in  the  scen- 
ery; the  extensive  water  prospect  is  a  waste,  uncheckered 
by  islands,  unenlivened  by  the  spreading  canvass,  and  the 
fatiguing  monotony  of  which  is  increased  by  the  equally 
ujudiversified  prospect  of  the  land  scenery,  which  affords  no 
relief  to  the  sight,  as  it  consists  merely  of  a  plain,  in  which 

5 


84 


THK    MISSISSIPPI    VAl.LKY: 


but  few  itatclios  of  thin  and  scnibbv  woods  aro  obsorved 
scattered  horo  and  there. 

"The  viHau:e  presents  no  (!h(;erin^  prospect,  as  notwith- 
standing its  anticpiity,  it  consists  of  but  few  lints,  inhabited 
by  a  iniserahU'  race  of  men,  scarcely  equal  to  the  Indians, 
from  wliom  they  are  dest'cnded.  Their  log  or  bark  houses 
are  low,  tilthy,  and  disgusting,  displaying  not  the  least  trace 
of  comfort.  ( 'hicago  is  perliaps  one  of  the  oldest  settlements 
in  the  Indian  countrv;  its  name,  derived  from  the  ]\)ttavvat- 
tamie  language,  signifies  either  a  skunk  or  wild  onion,  and 
eacli  of  these  significations  has  been  occasionally  given  for 
it.  A  fort  is  said  to  have  formerly  e.visted  there.  Mention 
is  made  of  the  place  as  having  been  visited  by  J*errot,  who 
found  *Chigogan'  to  be  the  residence  of  a  powerful  chief 
of  the  Miamis.  The  number  of  trails  centering  all  at  this 
spot,  and  their  apparent  antiquity,  indicate  that  this  was 
for  a  long  time  the  site  of  a  large  Indian  village.  As  a 
place  of  business,  it  offers  no  inducement  to  the  settler;  for 
tiie  whole  amount  K)i  trade  on  the  lake  did  not  exceed  the 
cargo  of  five  or  six  schooners,  even  at  the  time  when  the 
garrison  received  its  supplies  from  Mackinaw. 

"It  is  not  impossible  that  at  some  distant  day  when  the 
banks  of  the  Illinois  shall  have  been  covered  with  a  dense 
population,  and  when  the  low  prairies  which  extend  be- 
tween that  river  and  Fort  Wayne  shall  have  acquired  a  pop- 
ulation proportionate  to  the  produce  they  can  yield,  that 
Chicago  may  become  one  of  thi?  points  in  the  direct  line  of 
communication  between  the  northern  lakes  and  the  Mississ- 
ippi; but  even  the  intercourse  which  will  be  carried  on 
through  this  communication,  will,  we  think,  at  all  times  be 
a  limited  one.  The  dangers  attending  on  the  navigation  of 
the  lake,  and  tlie  scarcity  of  harbors  along  the  shores,  must 
ever  prove  a  serious  obstacle  to  the  increase  of  the  commer- 
cial importance  of  Chicago.  The  extent  of  the  sand  banks 
which  are  formed  on  the  eastern  and  southern  shore,  by 


[ 


♦ 


J    V 


t 


t 


AN    HISTORICAL    ADDRESS. 


85 


the  prt'vailing  north  and  nortlnvest  winds,  will  likewiso  pro- 
vent  any  important  works  from  being  undertaken  to  'm- 
prove  the  post  of  Ohieago.'' 

Could  the  writer  of  this  sketch,  now  after  the  lapse  of  less 
than  fifty  years,  see  tlie  Chicago  of  the  present  day,  the 
Queen  City  of  the  Lakes,  he  would  be  inclined  to  materially 
modify  his  views. 

On  this  same  expedition  an  examination  was  made  of  tlie 
natural  water  communication  between  the  lake  at  Chicago 
and  the  head-waters  of  the  Illinois  leading  to  the  Mississip- 
pi. In  this  examination  and  report  we  have  the  first  inti- 
mation of  the  feasibility  of  an  enterprise,  as  yet  only  par- 
tially realized,  of  direct  water  communication  between 
Lake  Michigan  and  the  Mississippi  river.  I  say  pfirtiaHy^ 
for  the  present  Illinois  and  Michigan  canal  is  not  ;  ^^  the 
most  direct  route,  and  its  capacity  is  limited  to  a  single 
class  of  boats,  not  fitted  either  for  river  or  lake  traffic.  But 
the  problem  itself,  on  which  the  producing  interests  of  the 
Upper  Mississippi  Valley  are  so  intimately  dependent,  was 
substantially  solved  when,  on  the  15th  of  July,  1871,  by  the 
deep  cut  of  the  summit  level,  the  waters  of  Lake  Michigan 
were  cause  to  tlow  up  the  slimy  bed  of  Chicago  river,  and 
pour  their  tribute  on  the  Mississippi  slope.  With  this  grand 
feeder  virtually  drawing  on  the  entire  basin  of  the  great 
lakes,  what  is  there  to  prevent  a  direct  water  route  of  any 
capacity  desired  between  the  lakes  and  the  Mississippi  ? 
Tiyne  and  money  (and,  it  is  to  be  hoped,  not  too  much  of  the 
former)  is  all  that  is  now  requisite  to  accomplish  this  im- 
portant result. 

But  I  have  already  far  exceeded  the  limits  originally  de- 
signed for  a  brief  address,  though  the  subject  itself,  t^  do 
proper  justice,  would  require  volumes. 

Thus,  to  conclude,  from  the  fragmentary  materials  at 
my  command,  I  have  endeavored,  at  least,  vith  honest  zeal, 
to  commemorate  the  deeds  and  labors  of  those  early  pic- 


'1 


86 


THE   MISSISSIPPI   VALLEY: 


neers  who  have,  for  our  benefit,  planted  the  seeds  of  a  better 
civilization  in  this  magnificent  valley.  I  have  brought  down 
my  historic  sketch  within  the  memory  of  living  men,  and 
there  leave  it  for  other  and  abler  hands  to  complete.  The 
forms  of  those  lately  passed  and  now  passing  away,  are  too 
palpable  —  they  touch  too  nearly  the  clashing  interests  of 
to-day ;  they  need  the  softening  hand  of  Time  to  develop 
the  permanent  value  of  their  works.— 7'%,  and  we,  must 
wait. 


' 


I 


